This is the presentation I gave at the Branding in Banking and Finance Conference that was held in Johannesburg, South Africa on 26th - 28th September 2011. I have added speaker notes on some of the slides.

1. VUCA
branding in the age of
Patrick Collings
Sagacite
Branding in Banking & Finance Conference 2011
26 - 27 September 2011
by mark visosky

2. an argument for a new mindset and toolset for
branding in socio-economic environments that
are volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous

3. the argument rests on two key pillars

4. a traditional view of marketing
Speaker Note: This slide referred to the fact that marketing was often bolted onto strategy developed
elsewhere in the corporation.
photo by Mike Bitzenhofer

5. brands
marketing

6. “...many enlightened organizations are moving
branding entirely away from communications
and toward connecting strategy, culture, and a
wider stakeholder involvement.”
Nicholas Ind & Majken Schultz
Strategy + Business

7. brand strategy
equals
business strategy

8. a turbulent socio-economic &
business environment
Speaker Note: The second pillar of the argument refers to the market conditions that brands have to
compete in.
photo by tenisca

9. the world is facing increased
turbulence over the next
decade and beyond
Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World
released by the National Intelligence Council

10. caused by leadership change in
emerging markets, major policy shifts by
governments, increased armed conflict,
interlinked economies, budget cuts by
local and national government

12. welcome
to the age
of VUCA photo by Beacon Radio

13. volatility, uncertainity, complexity
and ambiguity are also keeping
executives awake at night
image by Herr Kaczmarek

14. relentless innovation

15. demand for results

16. in endless conversations

17. history is no guarantee
of tomorrow

18. the recessionary climate remains
Speaker Note: This slide and the next three slides refer to challenges facing the banking and nancial
industry.
by alex e proimos

19. banking the
unbanked
Photo by Ronn Aldaman

21. AFTER THREE
YEARS AND
TRILLIONS OF
DOLLARS, OUR
BANKS STILL
DON’T WORK
TIME MAGAZINE, SEPT 26 2011

22. the brand management toolbox is limited
photo by Robert S Donovan

23. marketing mindset and marketing-focused tools
rationalistic management tools developed
decades ago
methodologies and tools that rely on historic
and static data
tools that are cookie cutter in nature

24. is needed
photo by SomeDriftwood

25. starting with a new mindset
by maessive

26. one that accepts that we can’t predict the
future and should concentrate on being
flexible enough to successfully engage it, in
whatever form it may take

27. “Giving up the illusion that you can predict
the future is a very liberating moment. All
you can do is to give yourself the capacity
to respond to the only certainty in life -
which is uncertainty. The creation of that
capability is the purpose of strategy”
Lord John Browne, former CEO BP

28. “Nearly all of the Best Global Brands have
embraced the idea of constant change,
evolution and innovation, and are able to
continually meet the changing requirements
of their customers.”
Interbrand Best Global Brand 2010

29. and the tools to go with the mindset

30. flexible thinking applied flexibility

31. near future budgeting
disposable factories
scenario planning customizable complexity
dynamic pricing
shadow portfolios
Speaker Note: The list of strategy tools listed in the right column is not comprehensive. At Sagacite we
refer to these tools by the collective name of rapid adaptive strategies.

32. scenarios
photo by drew herron

33. the aim of scenarios
is to reveal multiple,
equally realistic and
foreseeable futures
photo by drew herron

34. approaches
Royal Dutch/Shell & Global Business Network
The French School
The Futures Group
Wilson and Ralston
Lindgren and Bandhold
Reference scenarios
Decision Strategies International
Procedural scenarios
Industry scenarios
Soft creative scenarios

35. help connects
the dots
picture by gato-gato-gato

36. relaxation of monetary
banking policy keeping
regulations interest rates
low
consumer’s
limited
financial
instruments knowledge
that shifted risk
off balance
sheets
evaporation 2008
of reasonable
credit Financial
standards
Meltdown

37. scenarios allow us to see
beyond the headlights
photo by victor cavazzoni

38. uncertainty
forecast scenarios hope
now distance into the future

39. and avoid panic when the
future deals us a bad hand
image by luna di rimmel

40. rapid adaptive strategy

41. near future budgeting
Speaker Note: Near future budgeting refers to the trend to shorten the budgeting period given that
people can’t predict three to ve years out.
by kenteegardin

42. Disposable Factories
Speaker Note: Disposable factories belongs to the real option group of rapid adaptive strategies. It
refers to limited investment in production facilities until a product proves itself in the market.
photo by slinky2000

43. customizable
complexity
Speaker Note: This slide refers to companies allowing consumers to determine their individual brand
offering.
image by Pixel Placebo

44. Dynamic Pricing
Speaker Note: An example of dynamic pricing is insurance companies who calculate motor insurance
based on how a customer drives their car as recorded by an onboard device.
photo by Greg Woodhouse

45. portfolio
Brand
Speaker Note: The same way opposition parties have a shadow cabinet so they are ready to govern,
brands should have a shadow portfolio of different offerings for drastically different market conditions.

46. “We have made tremendous progress in our
ability to operate complicated systems... We
have made less progress to operate complex
systems, which defy conventional modelling and
challenge traditional management practices.
Leaders need to use better tools for
understanding how these system will behave -
tools that can help us understand the constant
interaction of numerous elements and the
impact of rare but extreme events.”
Gökçe Sargut & Rita Gunther McGrath
Learning to Live with Complexity
Harvard Business Review
September 2011

47. not just about survival
but also opportunities

48. “In the next few years, successful companies
will distinguish themselves by managing
uncertainity better than do their competitors.
The very best will create uncertainity for their
competitors to struggle with - and there will
be hell to pay by those who fall behind.”
George Stalk
Senior Partner and Managing Director
The Boston Consulting Group

49. Speaker Note: Apple is a company that adds to the VUCA environment of their competitors by
releasing innovative products and services that immediately rede ne the market.

50. Ordnung braucht nur
der dumme ein genie
beherrscht das chaos

51. Order is needed only
by fools, the genius
controls the chaos